Platform: Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox One
Publisher: Microids
Developer: Ocellus Studio
Medium: Digital
Players: 1
Online: No
ESRB: E10+
The fascinating thing about Smurfs games is that even if they’re never great, they’re still generally way better than you’d expect they should be. Smurfs – Mission Vileaf and Smurfs 2 were surprisingly solid 3D platformers. Likewise, Smurfs Kart was a genuinely fun kart racer.
This trend continues with The Smurfs – Dreams. It’s hardly a Game of the Year contender, but I’ve certainly played games that are much, much worse. It’s decent enough that I can say that if you’re in the mood for an above-average 3D platformer, it’ll certainly do the trick.
To some extent, this shouldn’t be a total surprise. As I wrote back when the game revealed its launch date, The Smurfs – Dreams was developed by Ocellus Studio, who created Marsupilami: Hoobadventure. Much like the Smurfs games, Marsupilami was far better than it had any right to be, so it’s good to see Ocellus show that their last game was no fluke.
Admittedly, what made Marsupilami so worthwhile was the same thing that makes The Smurfs – Dreams so worthwhile: both steal from the best, and make no effort to hide their thieving ways. Much like Marsupilami felt very, very similar to a reskinned Donkey Kong Country game, The Smurfs – Dreams borrows pretty heavily from 3D Mario games, particularly Super Mario 3D Land. It’s not identical to quite the same extent, but it’s close enough that you don’t have to look hard to see the similarities.
For example, you don’t quite have a double-jump as much as you have a jump and a flutter jump that brings to mind Luigi or Yoshi (depending on what game you want to look at). The world is filled with cherries to pick up, and the way they rotate around a fixed point certainly brings coins to mind. To be sure, there are definitely some innovations to be found here – like the way you can pause mid-jump with a bubble around you if you want to avoid falling to your doom – but overall, the gameplay has a definite Mario vibe.
There are worse vibes to have, of course. And The Smurfs – Dreams has a bit of its own identity thanks to its visuals and music. Both are appropriately dreamlike, fitting into the overall story of Gargamel putting all the Smurfs to sleep, with a score that wafts along in an ethereal fashion and levels that are designed to look like something out of…well, a dream.
To be sure, it’s not going to make you forget Mario. And, as I said up top, it’s not going to be making very many year-end lists in a couple of months. But The Smurfs – Dreams is good enough for what it is – which is to say, a 3D platformer that’s aimed at a younger audience – that if you give it a chance and don’t expect too much, you’ll probably have a good time with it.
Microids provided us with a Smurfs – Dreams PC code for review purposes.
